Troubleshooting Website Access Issues During Automation

Overview

This article helps resolve situations where a website is publicly accessible in a browser but cannot be accessed during automation execution. One common cause of this issue is third-party cookies being blocked by the browser.

Prerequisites

• Access to the browser settings on the execution machine.

• Administrative permissions to modify browser privacy settings (if required).

• The website is publicly accessible and loads successfully when opened manually.

Symptoms

You may observe one or more of the following:

• The website fails to load during automation execution.

• Login or authentication pages do not function as expected.

• The application redirects repeatedly without loading the intended page.

• Certain website elements fail to load during test execution.

Possible Cause

Some websites rely on third-party cookies for authentication, session management, embedded content, or cross-site communication. If third-party cookies are blocked, automation execution may be unable to access or interact with the website correctly.

Resolution

For Google Chrome

Step 1: Open Chrome Settings

Click the Chrome menu and select Settings.

Step 2: Open Privacy and Security

From the left navigation menu, select Privacy and Security.

Step 3: Open Third-Party Cookie Settings

Click Third-party cookies

Step 4: Allow Third-Party Cookies

Select Allow third-party cookies.

For Safari

Step 1: Open Safari Settings

Click Safari from the menu bar and select Settings.

Step 2: Open Privacy Settings.

Disable Cross-Site Tracking Prevention

Causes & Fixes

Outcome

After enabling third-party cookies (or disabling cross-site tracking restrictions in Safari), the website should be accessible during automation execution, allowing tests to run successfully.